Warning-post for railway equipment.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD D. HILLHAN, OF LAROHHONT MANOR, NE\V YORK, ASSIGNOR TO BENJAMIN A.

I-IEGEMAN, JR., OF NORTH PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

WARNING-POST FOR RAILWAY EQUIPMENT.

Patented. Nov. 26, 1907.

Application filed September 21, 1907 Serial |89l- To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD D. HILLMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Larchmont Manor, in the county of WVestchester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVarning-Posts for Railway Equipment, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in warning-posts for railway track equipment, and it consists .in the novel features hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

It is customary at grade crossings and at other points along railway tracks, to provide posts indicating to the engineer on a train to blow the locomotive whistle or ring his bell. These posts have ordinarily consisted of a vertically arranged board painted white and bearing, in black, the letter 1V or the letter It, the letter 1V denoting that the whistle must be blown and the letter It that the bell must be rung. WVarning posts bear ing the letter WV have customarily been placed at grade crossings and those bearing the letter R have ordinarily been arranged at cuts and other places and where it is more desirable to have the bell rung.

WVooden warning posts have not been entirely satisfactory for several reasons, among which it may be mentioned that the posts are subject to decay, that they become discolored, due to exposure to the weather, dust and smoke, and that snow, when drifting, banks up against them.

My invention has for its purpose to provide a new construction of warning post which will obviate the objections to the wooden posts and furnish a more efficient warning to a locomotive engineer. The discoloration of the wooden posts is a matter of considerable importance since thereby the posts themselves become obscured and the warning letter on the posts rendered more or less indistinguishable.

In accordance with my invention, in its preferred embodiment, I construct the post from an individual rod of structural steel, preferably of T-shape in cross-section, which red I bend at about its middle portion to form two vertical parallel standards integrally connected at their upper ends and creating an outline-post, the space between the vertical portions thereof being entirely open, and upon the post thus constructed I rivet a metal letter 1V or R, the letter extending transversely across the space defined within the post and securely riveted to the side members thereof, the letter being in steel and suflieiently large to be readily discerned at considerable distance. I also preferably connect the two members of the post at their lower ends by a transverse bar so that there may be no spreading of the same at their lower ends. The letter riveted to and forming a part of the post may be painted black and the post itself white. The warning post thus constructed is not only of very durable character but any discoloration of the post will not obscure the warning letter nor will any discoloration of the letter render it invisible or indistinguishable, since its outline is exposed in the open space between the side members of the post and this outline maybe readily seen by the engineer regardless of the influences which might discolor the post and letter. Drifting snow would also pass between the side edges of the post and not bank up to any extent against the same.

The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a warning post embodying my invention, this post bearing the letter WV and being shown as secured in a cement base, the letter being partly broken away and in section; Fig. 2 is an edge view of same Fig. 3 is a detached View of the upper portion of the post provided with the letter It and Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of the post on the dotted line 4t of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, 10 designates the post and 11 the warning-letter carried thereby, said letter being shown as I/V in Fig. l and It in Fig. 3. The post 10 is formed from an integral rod of steel, preferably of T, angle or other structural shape in cross-section and folded at about its middle to create the vertical parallel separated side standards 12, 12 connected at their upper ends by the integral member 14 and forming an open frame defining a vertical space 15 which is spanned transversely at the upper portion of the post by the letter 11. The letter 11 is cut from sheet steel and formed at its upper and lower edges with horizontally projecting flanges 16, which are riveted to the lateral flanges of the post, as shown. The lower portions of the side members of the post are connected together by means of a bar 17, which prevents said members from spreading and aids in anchoring the post in its base. I preferably provide the warning-post with a concrete or cement base 18.

The post illustrated is of durable and simple construction and will be understood without further special detailed explanation. The letter W or B may be painted black and the remaining portion of the post white, and it is of advantage that the letter to be displayed is disposed within and spans the open space 15, since thereby the letter may be readily observed and will not become obscured due to any discoloration of the main body of the post. It is of the highest importance that a locomotive engineer shall be able to observe the warning-letters W, R, and my invention renders said letters more easily distinguishable at all times and avoids the objections to the wooden warning-posts commonly employed. The warning posts of my invention may be readily manufactured and placed in position and obviously will outlast wooden posts.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A warning-post for railway-tracks comprising metal side'standards defining an open space between them and a metal letter span s zips ning said space and secured to said post; substantially as set forth.

2. A metal warning-post for railwaytracks comprising a frame having side standards integrally connected and defining an open space between them, and a metal letter spanning said space and secured to said post; substantially as set forth.

3. A warning-post for railway-tracks comprising a folded metal rod creating two side standards connected together at one end, a bar connecting said standards at their other end and a metal letter spanning said space and secured to said post; substantially as set forth. a

t. A warning-post for railway-tracks comprising a folded metal rod presenting an angle-iron shape in cross section and creating two side standards integrally connected at one end, and a metal letter spanning the space between said standards and secured at its upper and lower corners thereto; substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 19th day of September A. D'. 1907.

EDWARD D. HILLMAN.

l/Vitnesses:

ARTHUR MARION, CHAS. C. GILL. 

